Weekend Estimates: Narrow Win for The Hobbit Caps Year

December 30th, 2012

2012 comes to an end on a decidedly positive note for the movie industry this weekend, thanks to strong performances from three films. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will come out on top, according to studio estimates released on Sunday, with $32.92 million or so for the weekend and a total to date of $222.7 million. Django Unchained will post an impressive second place with $30.7 million and a per theater average over $10,000. Finally, Les Miserables is set for a little over $28 million, for a six-day total of $67.5 million. With those three films bringing in $90 million between, and plenty of strength in depth, 2012 will finish on a winning note.

The weekend's other wide opener, Parental Guidance is a bit of a disappointment at $14.8 million, but cost much less to make than its competition, so the result isn't a disaster.

Among returning films, comparatively strong weekends are expected for Lincoln, Monsters, Inc. (for which we don't yet have full numbers) and Silver Linings Playbook, which expanded to 745 venues this weekend.

The standout limited release is Zero Dark Thirty, which is expected to earn $315,000 from just 5 locations, for a per theater average North of $60,000. Also impressive, Amour is projected to earn $60,016 in three theaters for an average of almost exactly $20,000 per theater. Finally, The Impossible joins the $10,000 club with $184,500 in 15 theaters -- enough to suggest some expansion is possible over the next few weeks.